Red sky at night: Rare blue supermoon visible from Wales tonight

Stephen Price

Skywatchers across Wales can expect to witness a rare lunar phenomenon tonight, as the night sky is set to be illuminated by a rare blue supermoon – with a much more vibrant colour expected yet again thanks to ongoing ecological disasters.

Despite its name, a blue moon has nothing to do with a colour change in the Moon, it refers to the third full moon in a season with four full moons, as is the case with tonight’s full moon, while a supermoon appears brighter and bigger than usual because the Moon’s orbit brings it closer to earth.

Blood red supermoon ominously lights the wilds of Wales. #fullmoon pic.twitter.com/US3iyeRLPB

— Mark Rees (@reviewwales) August 18, 2024

The moon travels around Earth in an orbit that is not quite circular, so there is a single point in its orbit that is closest to Earth as well as a point that is furthest away.

The moon normally sits about 384,000km from Earth but will be 23,000km closer on Monday night – almost double Earth’s diameter.

Sepia toned

And far from being blue, as many people on social media have noticed, the Moon has picked up a much more intense golden colour over the past few days – which meteorologists have said is a result of wildfires which are taking place across North America and parts of Europe at the moment.

August’s Full Blue Sturgeon Supermoon rising above Stonehenge last night 🤩🌕
photo credit Nick Bull https://t.co/L0H7IdzlHR#bluemoon #supermoon #fullmoon #stonehenge #astro #moon pic.twitter.com/hYEBYDul3N

— Stonehenge U.K (@ST0NEHENGE) August 19, 2024

This particular moon also goes by the “moon names” of the red, corn, green corn, barley, herb, grain, or dog moon; Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Purnima; and Tu B’Av.

According to NASA: “The first recorded use of “Blue Moon” in English dates from 1528. Speculations on the origin of the term include an old English phrase that means “betrayer Moon” (because it led to mistakes in setting the dates for Lent and Easter).

“Or it may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the Moon actually appear blue. Since the 1940s the term “Blue Moon” has also been used for the second full Moon in a month that has two full Moons. ”

Did you see the full blue supermoon – not blue but red – last night? 🔴

The sun was also pretty eerie at sunset too.

Smoke from North American wildfires is still sitting in the skies above the UK but clears today. pic.twitter.com/dnpARrnlR5

— Simon King (@SimonOKing) August 19, 2024

The supermoon will appear full for three days, according to Nasa, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning, and is easily observed without any special kit or viewing point as long as skies are clear.

The last time the UK witnessed a combined super blue moon was last August – but if you miss it, the next one is reportedly not due until 2037.